IfL welcomes new Chief Executive

We are pleased to welcome Toni Fazaeli as our first Chief Executive.

Toni started her career as a teacher, and has taught in prisons, further education and adult and community colleges and providers, as well as schools. As a qualified teacher and then an inspector, she has observed hundreds of teaching sessions in the FE sector and has met and discussed teaching and learning with hundreds of teachers and tutors. She is passionate about teaching, training and learning and their power to give young people and adults more chances in life.

"The next period of development and change is crucial for IfL," said Toni, "and I am so pleased to have been invited to join as chief executive. IfL already has fantastic achievements to its credit including consulting and involving members, the CPD portal, some 140,000 member registrations and the Code of Professional Practice. I look forward to working with Council, IfLs range of professional members, the staff and partner agencies, helping to build on IfLs strong reputation. Together, we will do our utmost to raise the professional status of FE and skills practitioners."

Before joining IfL, Toni was a deputy director in the further education and skills group at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). Her four-year tenure started in the standards unit, and her policy responsibilities included the further education workforce, teaching and learning and personalising learning.

Toni's previous role was director of quality and standards at the Learning and Skills Council national office for three years, covering the full breadth of LSC-funded providers, including work-based learning. She was an inspector for the Further Education Funding Council for seven years, responsible for inspecting literacy, numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and humanities across a diverse range of further and adult colleges and services.

IfL's chair, Sue Crowley, said, "We are delighted to welcome Toni at this very important time in our evolution as a professional body. She has been instrumental in raising the profile of the workforce and securing the introduction of qualifications, registration and licence to practise arrangements that will strengthen the professional role of FE teachers. She has worked closely with key national organisations to help shape policy for the FE workforce, including with LLUK on the first ever workforce strategy for FE in England.

"We believe that Toni will make a pivotal contribution to IfL and our endeavours to promote, value and develop the professionalism of all learning and skills practitioners. She will be joining a strong and committed management team, which has, for the past few months, been led by our deputy chief executive, Lee Davies. I would like to thank Lee for his sterling work in supporting the development of the organisation and the Council."